Keyword: Barry Schwartz

Video lottery terminals will be coming to Saratoga Springs following approval Wednesday evening by local officials of a resolution permitting the devices at a Standardbred track located just down the road from the New York Racing Association's premier flat track.

The New York Racing Association has ended dark-day simulcasting at Aqueduct, and its chairman, Barry Schwartz, targeted the product at Gulfstream Park as the main reason for the move. The president of Gulfstream disagrees with Schwartz's assessment of the product.

The New York Racing Association has submitted plans to state regulators to build a 100,000 square-foot, video lottery terminal area at Aqueduct racetrack, but the chairman of NYRA says the proposal won't work unless the state revises its new video lottery terminal law to give tracks more help with expenses.

Other tracks in New York have joined the New York Racing Association in condemning aspects of the state's new law that authorizes video lottery terminals. They claim state government is forcing them to pick up too many of the costs of the program.

The video lottery terminals proposed for New York racetrack appear to be less of a good deal than was expected when a law that permits them was rushed through two months ago, the head of the New York Racing Association said.

The video lottery terminals proposed for New York racetrack appear to be less of a good deal than when a law that permits them was rushed through two months ago, the head of the New York Racing Association said.

As a new, sweeping gambling package was signed into law in New York, forces were already lining up for a potentially nasty battle over whether to permit video lottery terminals in Saratoga Springs, the state's healthiest Thoroughbred community.

The chairman of the New York Racing Association said Saturday he would welcome video lottery terminals at Aqueduct Raceway, but insists the state's ailing Standardbred tracks should also be included in any VLT proposal now being eyed by state officials.

At a press conference at Saratoga Race Course on Wednesday, New York Racing Association chairman Barry Schwartz announced that the board of trustees of the NYRA agreed to support the introduction of video lottery terminals at Aqueduct and Belmont Park under conditions that would further the racing industry in New York State.

Setting the stage for a nasty battle between two racing giants, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani Thursday afternoon tapped a group led by Frank Stronach's Magna Entertainment over the New York Racing Association as the winning buyer of the lucrative New York City Off Track Betting Corp.

New York's top Democrat in the state Legislature said New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has told him the city government is inclined to sell its massive off track betting operation to a consortium of racing interests headed by Magna Entertainment.

New York City Off-Track Betting Corp. falling into the hands of a consortium led by Magna Entertainment would be "an affront" to the entire racing industry, the head of the New York Racing Association charged.

The New York Racing Association, after agreeing to concessions with the state's off-track betting corporations, won final legislative approval of its plan to lower takeout on betting at its three tracks in New York. Gov. George Pataki must sign the bill.

While pushing to take over the New York City Off Track Betting Corp., Barry Schwartz has been busily pressing top state lawmakers at the Capitol in Albany to back him on what has become his other chief lobbying mission this year: lowering the takeout at New York racetracks.

At the New York Capitol building Tuesday afternoon, legislative sources were already predicting the new partnership of the New York Racing Association, Churchill Downs Inc., and the TV Games Network has a strong edge over the group headed by Magna Entertainment in the bidding for New York City Off-Track Betting Corp.

Promoters pushing to legalize video gambling at racetracks in New York have stepped up their efforts in recent weeks to make a last-gasp push to get the controversial devices turned on at Thoroughbred and harness tracks. The quiet but intense effort, first reported by The Buffalo <i>News,</i> has been spurred by a new plan to use the state Lottery Division as a possible way to allay concerns about the constitutionality of the machines.

Stakes winner David, who was retired from racing earlier this month, will set up stud duty for the 2001 season at DunHill Stud near Reddick, Fla. His fee will be $3,000 payable 35 days after the foal's birth.

As new chairman of the New York Racing Association, horse owner and breeder Barry Schwartz has taken swift action to make changes sought by the tracks' racing fans and patrons. In a letter posted on the NYRA Website, Schwartz said the changes are a result of feedback to an online survey conducted by NYRA.

Kenny Noe Jr. resigned as CEO and chairman of the New York Racing Association's Board of Trustees at the board's monthly meeting Wednesday, with prominent owner-breeder Barry Schwartz named to replace him.